It is commonly experienced that posters or signs are frequently defaced, obliterated, or removed by vandals. Such vandalism cannot effectively be prevented simply by enclosing the poster or sign within a frame having a transparent window and fitted together by conventional fastening means, e.g. screws, since vandals frequently employ commonly available hand tools such as screwdrivers to gain access to the poster or sign inside. Moreover, a problem is presented to the designer of such units in that, not only must they be tamper-proof with respect to vandals, but on the other hand it is necessary that it be a relatively simple matter for untrained personnel to remove the old poster from the display housing and replace it with a new one.
Thus, a tamper-proof display assembly desirably should satisfy the paradoxical requirements of defeating a skilled vandal using conventional readily available tools on the one hand, and be readily accessible to completely unskilled personnel for purposes of poster replacement. Additionally, such a sign assembly should be quite inexpensive to fabricate, and further be configured to provide adequate protection to the display contents, e.g. a poster, against the elements, when placed in outdoor locations. Although a key-lockable pivoted transparent door covering a sign-containing open front box-like structure may be employed for such purposes, such assemblies are costly, and the locks are readily susceptible to freezing in cold weather.
To the applicant's knowledge, prior to the present invention as disclosed herein, no satisfactory solution to the above mentioned problems have been heretofore developed.